This invention relates generally to acoustic data couplers, and particularly to the design of receiver and transmitter element containing cups thereon for establishing a mechanical and acoustical coupling with telephone handsets of various sizes.
Data couplers are becoming widely used as a means for connecting computer equipment to an ordinary telephone line through a telephone handset. Such a coupler generally contains audio transmitter and receiving elements on its case with the elements being electrically connected therein so that computing equipment can both receive and transmit computer data over an ordinary telephone line. The telephone line is connected to the receiving and transmitting elements by placing a handset of an ordinary telephone in close contact therewith. In order to maintain the contact and also exclude some background noise from interferring with the data transmission, acoustic coupling cups are utilized at each of the transmitter and receiver elements for contacting the handset. Existing couplers of this type are exemplified by the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,553,374--Wolf (1971); 3,585,302--Swan (1971); 3,719,783--Kennedy (1973); 3,725,584--Kilmer et al (1973); 3,733,437--Keith (1973); and 3,992,583--Davis et al (1976).
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved data coupler handset receiving cup that holds a handset in place on the data coupler with improved mechanical security, accepts a wider variation and sizes of handsets and which provides a close contact between the receiving and transmitting elements of the acoustic coupler and the handset being carried thereby.